What is Prayer

1. “What is Prayer?” 29th
November 2015
“One dayJesus was prayingin a certain place.Whenhe finished,oneof hisdisciplessaidto him,
“Lord,teach us to pray, just as Johntaughthis disciples.”” (Luke11:1)
Jesusactuallyhadverymuchto say about prayer. Fromthe bible we can learnthatJesus spenta great
deal of time inprayer.In fact, JesusreferstoprayerinHis teachings42 times,andthe gospelsrecord
Him personallypraying28 times…andthisisonlywhatisrecorded. Several times,the Bible tellsus,“And
He wentupto the mountainto pray. “After he had dismissedthem,he went up on a mountainsideby
himselfto pray. Later that night,he wasthere alone” (Matthew14:23; we can readthisoccurrence
alsoin Mark 6:46; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:28). We can read that Jesusprayedinthe wilderness,inthe Temple,
inthe Gardenof Gethsemane,andHe prayedonthe Cross.Prayerwas so mucha part of the life of the
Saviorthat,early on, the disciplescame toHimand said,“Lord,teach us topray”: “One day Jesuswas
prayingin a certain place.Whenhe finished,oneof hisdisciplessaidto him,“Lord,teach usto pray,
just as Johntaughthis disciples” (Luke11:1). Theywere amazedat the level of significanceandthe
depthof meaningthatprayerhad for Jesus.Hislife wasaneloquentexpressionof close communication
withAlmightyGod.
The Jewswere well versedinthe mechanicsof andoccasionsforprayer.What most didn’tknow was
howto have the kindof profoundsubstance totheirprayerthatJesusobviouslyhad.Manyof themsaw
the patternof Hisprayer life,andmanymore witnessedthe resultsof that understanding.More
importantthanthat, however,wasthe kindof manJesuswasas a resultof His belief inprayer. Although
mostof us knowwhatprayermeans,itwill onlybe to one’sadvantage inknowingmore aboutour
prayers…and probablythe reasonasto why the disciplesinquiredfromJesus!
So,what isprayer? There were 83,100,000 hitson an Internetsearch whenaleadingChurchin
Californiaconducted onprayerrecently.The multitude of viewsonprayerandhow to pray and to
whomto pray to andthe intendedresults throughprayerthe repose was limitless.Fromthiswe can
understandthatmost – regardlessof the religion –prayed!.Inthe case of Christianswe canlearn that
there ismuch writtenabout prayeroverthe years;some datingclearback intothe 16th Century. There
are so manythat nonof us will be able toread evenjust1% of it…butthe inporatntunderstandingthat
we shouldhave is:What isprayer?What doesit looklike,andhow doI do it?
The bestsource to explore andexamine,obviously,whenitcomestosomethingof sucha fundamental
as well asvital importisthe Word of God.And,the ultimate persontoaskourquestionsof isthe Living
God, JesusChrist. Initssimplestdefinition,prayerisconversationwithGod. And, forabelieverwhois in
the earlydaysof faith,thatis sufficient because asaperson growsintheirfaithand theirunderstanding
of God andthe waysof God, prayerbecomesmuchmore personal andof much greaterimportance.It
becomesmore andmore valuable tothe person andmore and more necessaryandmore and more real.
There are manyunderstandingsthatwe canderive throughthe bible:Whenwe readinthe very
beginningof the bible we canlearn thatprayeris callingonthe name of the Lord inpraise,worship,and
dependence. We canlearnfromPsalm72:12-13, “Forhe will deliver the needy who cry out, the
afflictedwhohave no one to help. 13
He will take pityon the weak andthe needy andsave the needy

2. from death”.We also pray for helpandstrength fromGod: “Answer me when I call to you,my
righteousGod.Give me relief frommy distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer” (Psalm4:1).
We can seekGod’sstrength toturn away fromsinand wickedways: “…ifmypeople,who are calledby
my name, will humblethemselvesand pray andseek my face andturn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven, andI will forgive their sinand will heal their land”.Importantlywe alsoprayto
God for Hismercy andGrace at our timesof need:“Letus then approachGod’sthrone ofgrace with
confidence,so that we may receive mercy andfindgrace to helpus in our time of need” (Hebrews
4:16).
Our prayersto God are inmanyways suchas for His Adoration(Psalm150);Asa . Confession seekingHis
forgiveness:“Havemercyon me, O God,accordingtoyour unfailinglove;accordingto yourgreat
compassionblotoutmy transgressions.Washawayall my iniquityandcleanseme from my sin”
(Psalm51:1-2). We pray to Him inthanksgiving:“Givethankstothe LORD,for he isgood. Hislove
endures forever” (Psalm136:1). We can alsolearnin Philippians4:6,“Donot be anxiousabout
anything,butin every situation,byprayer and petition,withthanksgiving,presentyour requests to
God” We also pray to God forSupplication(IntercessionandPetition).We canread inJohn17 when
Jesuspraysto the Father:“I have revealed you to those whomyou gave me out of the world.They
were yours; yougave them to me andthey haveobeyed your word. 7
Nowthey knowthat everything
you have givenme comes from you. 8
ForI gavethem the words yougave me andthey accepted them.
They knew withcertainty that I came fromyou, andthey believed that you sent me. (John17:6-8).
As Christianswe believe in Jesus Christasour God andsaviour. Our prayersare directedat Himand
throughHim: “Andwhatever you do,whether inword or deed, do it all inthe nameof the Lord Jesus,
givingthanksto Godthe Father throughhim”(Colossians3:17). We also prayby way of the Holy Spirit
as we can learnin Romans8:26-27, “Inthe sameway, the Spirit helpsus in our weakness.We do not
know what we oughtto prayfor, but the Spirit himselfintercedesfor us throughwordless groans.
27
Andhe whosearches our hearts knows the mindof the Spirit, becausethe Spiritintercedes for God’s
people inaccordance withthe will of God”.We can learninMatthew 6 that our prayersshouldbe
simply andsincerely:“Andwhen you pray,do not keep onbabblinglikepagans,for they thinkthey
will be heard because of their manywords. 8
Do not be like them, for your Father knowswhat you
need before you ask him” (Matthew6:7-8).
We mustalsorememberthatwithall our prayersthe critical requirementisthatwe are in submissionto
God’swill.We can learn that inMatthew 26:39 - Goinga littlefarther, he fell withhis face to the
groundand prayed, “My Father, ifit is possible, maythiscup be taken fromme. Yet not as I will,but
as you will” Furthermore whenwe praywe mustbe in obedience toGod’swill forourprayersto be
answeredbecause we canlearnin 1 John 3:22. “...andreceive from himanythingwe ask, because we
keep hiscommandsanddo what pleaseshim”.Our prayeristhat you understandthat prayerismore
than justa conversationwithGod.Ittrulyis an aligningof all thatwe are,all thatwe have,andall that
we desire withthe nature andcharacter and will of AlmightyGod,Makerof HeavenandEarth, and His
OnlySonOur Lord, JesusChrist,andall to the gloryof God alone. Mayyour prayersinthe days aheadfill
youwitha newsense of God’spresence andpowerinyourlife,andmayHe enliveninyourhearta joy
and a delight.
. “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that
night, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23